Page 39 of Glorious Sinner

She looked up at me, eyes wide, and I walked to her and pulled her to her feet, leading her to her side of the bed and flicking back the sheets. “Climb in, Steph.”

She did and watched me as I switched off the lights and climbed in beside her, letting me pull her into my side and wrap her in my arms. Her body was a little stiff beside me, and I could only imagine what was going on in her head, the toxic shit she’d convinced herself was true.

“I need to make one thing very clear,” I said and held her tight to me. “I’m not a man that does things I don’t want to do. There aren’t many people that I care about in this world, even less that I let close. You, Stephanie, are at the top of that list.”

She sucked in a breath and her fingers dug into my ribs.

“When you say you’re…” I had to take in a steadying breath and when I spoke again, my voice was pure gravel. “When you say you’re not worth it, that fucking guts me. That’s him talking, that’s him still taking up real estate in your head, and it’s wrong. So fucking wrong.” I gently tilted her head back and looked down at her. “You are everything, Stephanie Gable. Fucking everything, understand?”

Her eyes were wide in the dark, her lips soft, slightly parted. She nodded.

I rolled her to her side and wrapped myself around her, face buried in her warm hair, holding her in a way I hoped showed her how fucking precious she was to me. How worth it she was to me.

“And, Steph?” I rasped against her ear.

“Yes,” she said softly.

“There’s nothing casual about what we’re doing here.”

Stephanie

A car horn broke through my foggy brain and I rolled over, blinking at the dusky gray light trying to burst through the curtains. I was in Tomas’s bed, in his room. I’d been sleeping in here every night. I didn’t know how it happened but it just seemed right. I liked sleeping beside him.

The bed beside me was empty now, though. I glanced around the room. The bathroom door was open and I couldn’t hear him moving about in there. I sat up tentatively. After all the drinks I’d had last night, I expected a hangover. Surprisingly, I felt okay. More than okay. The big glass of water on the bedside table and the bottle of aspirin beside it were more than likely the reason for that. Tomas had made me take them after we’d talked.

The things he’d said to me flew through my mind.

“There’s nothing casual about what we’re doing here.”

I sucked in a steadying breath. I’d been pretty drunk last night, and I’d said a lot of things I wouldn’t usually. I’d let all my insecurities show, and Tomas hadn’t let me go to sleep until he’d addressed them.

I should probably have felt freaked by his admission, but I didn’t, I felt…

A smile curled my lips. I lifted my fingers to my mouth, stunned by the happiness bubbling up inside me. My heart raced and my hands grew clammy. Yes, there was some fear there. Letting in that happiness felt foreign. I’d avoided any kind of real happiness in my life for a long time. I hadn’t trusted it.

But with Tomas it was different.

I wanted this.

And above all else, I trusted him.

Throwing back the covers, I headed for the door. I didn’t bother putting something over my borrowed T-shirt, and jogged down the stairs to the ground floor.

The first thing I noticed was the front door was open. I started across the black and white tiled floor, and spotted Tomas standing on the stoop when I got closer. He was wearing his black pajama pants, his feet and chest bare, and his gaze was fixed on something or someone across the street. He was so focused he didn’t hear me moving up behind him.

I watched as he lifted a hand and crooked his finger, beckoning whoever it was to him. His face was in profile and the expression transforming his features was dark as hell, filled with rage.

I followed his gaze and jerked to a stop.

Ryan stood across the street, cars rushing past between them, staring back. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet, looking edgy and angry, but he didn’t make a move toward Tomas, and that didn’t surprise me. Ryan was a coward. He’d never take on Tomas, never in a million years. I realized that was why, when confronted with my abuser for the first time since he’d almost killed me a year ago, I didn’t run in fear. I didn’t shatter.

Tomas wouldn’t let him anywhere near me.

And I would never let that asshole hurt me again. I wouldn’t let him destroy my hard-won happiness. Something I’d been sure I’d never truly feel again.

My gaze moved back to Tomas and my heart thumped hard against the back of my ribs. He held himself rigid, every muscle taut, fists clenched, the veins and tendons in his arms bulging. And he was shaking with rage. Suddenly, he made a sound, a mix between a growl and a snarl, and took the first step, about to go after Ryan.

“Don’t, Tomas,” I said moving closer. “Please.”